Feed mechanisms for advancing a strip of terminals in a terminal applicator are either powered by a separate air cylinder or are mechanically coupled to the ram so that movement of the ram effects operation of the feed mechanism. An example of an air cylinder powered feed system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,889 which issued Nov. 30, 1990 to Phillips et al. While the air cylinder powered feed system is simple and effective, the cylinder is expensive and the system requires a source of compressed air to operate. For this reason feed mechanisms coupled to the ram are preferred in many instances. Such feed mechanisms are usually complex and are difficult to easily adapt for both side feed and end feed applications. Examples of such feed mechanisms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,184,950 which issued May 25, 1965 to Sitz; 3,673,847 which issued Jul. 4, 1972 to van de Kerkhof; 5,095,599 which issued Mar. 17, 1992 to Gloe et al,; and 5,483,739 which issued Jan. 16, 1996 to Smith et al. Further, the components of these feed mechanisms are mostly machined parts requiring relatively close tolerances and are expensive to manufacture. Additionally, the adjustments for the length of feed stroke and the end point of the feed are usually interrelated so that one adjustment affects the other thereby adding additional complexity to the adjusting processes.
What is needed is a simplified terminal feed mechanism that is easy to manufacture, uses a minimum of machined parts, and wherein the components are easily adaptable to either side feed or end feed by the user in the field. The feed mechanism should include independent adjustment mechanisms for both length of stroke and end point of feed.